In the manufacturing of carpets in general and tufted carpets in particular, one of the most important criteria of quality is the ability of the carpet construction to resist individual pile filaments from being pulled from the primary backing. This property is sometimes described as tuft-pull or tuft bind. Higher tuft-pull values are, of course, indicative of more desirable carpet construction.
Another major problem with carpet durability is the tendency of the pile to separate from the backing which exposes individual tufts. A measure of this characteristic is described as delamination strength. It is, again, desirable for this characteristic to be as high of a value as possible.
The most widely used method for laminating carpet pile to carpet backing involves the application of a carpet latex formulation to the surfaces of the backing and/or the piles being bonded together. It should be noted that the pile is normally mechanically bound to a primary backing to form a pile composite which is referred to herein as simply the pile. The coated innerface of the two surfaces (the pile composite and the carpet backing) are brought together and the whole composite including the pile portion of the construction is normally sent through large ovens. The heat treatment in the ovens serves the dual purpose of driving off the water contained in the latex compound and simultaneously curing the latex to effect a lamination of the pile to the backing. Upon exiting from the ovens, the finished carpet composite is cooled and taken up on large storage rolls.
It is naturally critical for the pile to adhere to the backing throughout the entire process. The adhesion of the pile to the backing while the carpet latex formulation is still wet is referred to as "wet adhesion" and is sometimes known by those involved in the carpet manufacturing industry as "quick-grab." There has been a long felt need in the carpet manufacturing industry for carpet latex formulations which exhibit improved wet adhesion characteristics.